NEW YORK: Programmatic advertising campaigns can be creative in nature alongside offering certain other efficiencies to brands, according to a leading executive from the Kellogg Co.

Jim Kiszka, senior manager/digital media, North America, at the Kellogg Co., discussed this topic while speaking at MediaPost's OMMA RTB Conference, held as part of Advertising Week 2014.

"Programmatic can be creative," he told the event delegates. (For more, including Kiszka's advice to agencies, read Warc's exclusive report: How Kellogg Co. grounds programmatic strategy grounded in art as well as science.)

"It's about the mindset … when you go into programmatic – and when you start to talk about it, when you think about it."

Kiszka is responsible for a digital paid-media budget topping $100m, which he invests on behalf of big-name brands like Corn Flakes, Special K and Cheez-It.

As Kellogg was also one of the first major marketers to start handling programmatic advertising in-house – and now buys over 50% of its digital ads in this way – his opinion carries particular weight.

The company has also expended significant energy in developing its automation capabilities, boosting online ad viewability and exploring optimal ad sizes.

But these technical advancements, according to Kiszka, can only yield the maximum impact if they are accompanied by suitably arresting messaging and visuals.

"We've created the white space. Yeah, we can do it efficiently and effectively. But what you put in there is much more important," Kiszka said.

"We are creating the white space in media. What are we filling it with? That's where we leave our partners and creative agencies to create a compelling storytelling experience."

In reflecting further on this theme, he asserted that the balance of success rested far more with the message than the media-buying technique.

"Thirty percent is the media; seventy percent is the creative, as far as I'm concerned," said Kiszka.

Data sourced from Warc